Chapter 12

Chapter 12 "The puppies are pretty scared," Nadine said. She and Jason carried the bulky, covered cage up to the deck. They set the cage in the shade. The baby wolves whimpered through the blanket. Wallis and Walker joined them on the deck. They were both grinning. "Can we peek in?" asked Abbi. "Okay, but just for a second," Nadine said. "Jason and I have to get them back to their mother as soon as possible."

Nadine lifted a corner of the blanket, and everyone peeked into the cage. The three baby wolves were huddled together. Small black eyes peered back at the kids. "They are so amazing!" Josh said. "They look thirsty," Abbi said. "Should we give them some water?" "Sure, and I could use a glass, too," Jason said. "Let's all go inside," Wallis said.

When the wolves had been given a bowl of water, the two game wardens told what happened on the island. "At first the Dacks denied everything," Nadine said. "But then I showed them your digital pictures, and that did it. They took us to a small shed, and there were the baby wolves, crying and scared." "Did they say why they took the wolves?" Ruth Rose asked. Jason nodded. "It seems that Greg Dack read an ad in a magazine from some guy who wanted to buy wolves to use as watchdogs," he said. "The Dacks stood to make several thousand dollars on this little scheme." "And right in the middle of their confession, their boss walked in," Nadine said. "He fired the Dacks on the spot. Jason called the authorities, and they'll be arrested within an hour. Those two won't be kidnapping anymore wolves." Nadine smiled at Abbi. "If it hadn't been for you, they would have gotten away with it," she said. "And who knows what might have happened to those pups."

Nadine took a small book from her back pocket. She opened the book in front of Abbi. "This shows all the animals that live in this park," she said. "Since you have a telescope, you could help us out by letting us know how many you see." Abbi accepted the book and beamed. "Thank you!" Jason stood up. "Let's get those pups back to their mom," he said. With the kids watching, Jason and Nadine carried the covered cage into the woods. Twenty minutes later, Dink looked up from the telescope. "They made it!" he said. Taking turns, the kids watched the game wardens set the cage in front of the lair. They removed the blanket, unlatched the door, then backed away. In seconds, the white mother wolf appeared. The three baby wolves scampered out of the cage and jumped on their mother. She licked them all over, then led them down into the lair. Later, after a big dinner with blueberry pie for dessert, Dink and Josh lay in their beds.

"My stomach is going to bust," Josh moaned. "Thanks for the warning," Dink said. "Who told you to eat three pieces of pie?" "Oh, don't even say the word 'pie'!" Josh said. "Pie, pie, pie!" Dink said. A minute later, Josh said, "Dink? I heard something outside the tent. I'll bet it's Ruth Rose and Abbi trying to scare us again." Dink crept out of his bed and peeked through the tent flap. Then he crawled back under his covers. "Did you see them?" Josh whispered. "I saw something about seven feet tall, covered with brown fur," Dink said. "Sweet dreams, Josh." "You're kidding me, right?" Josh asked. "Dink? It's a joke, right? Dink?" Dink smiled and went to sleep.